Feed apparatus



Aug. 16, 1966 HOWATT 3,266,795

FEED APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 32 '1 4 I7 I w K.iilfl lmllllillllrllfl.IINIIWVLIN!, 26 24 22 I6 FIG.

GEORGE Fl HOWATT INVENTOR.

Aug. 16, 1966 F. HOWATT 3,266,795

FEED APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

GEORGE Fl HOWATT INVENTOR.

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United States Patent Office 3,2fififl'95 Patented August 16, 19663,266,795 FEED APKARATUS George F. l-llowatt, Ncrthhcro, Mass, assignorto New England Envelope Mfg. iiornpany, Worcester, Mass, a corporationof Massachusetts Filed Get. 14, 1963, Ser. No. 315,978 6 Claims. (Cl.271-40) This invention relates to a feed apparatus and, moreparticularly, to apparatus arranged to interrupt a con tinuous flow ofarticles to produce a gap in the flow.

There are many situations in the automatic treatment of articles inwhich the articles flow in an uninterrupted stream from one machine andmust be introduced into another machine in a flow of large groups of thearticles, each group followed -by a space in which no articles flow tothe second machine. Such a situation exists, for instance, in presentingthe flow of envelopes from an envelope-making machine to an envelopebander wherein bundles of the envelopes are tied with a paper band. Ithas been found that, if one attempts to present the envelopes in acontinuous stream to the bander, it is difiicult to make the banderoperate properly because there is no gap in which mechanism of thebander can move transversely of the direction of envelope flow. Asimilar situation exists in the case of articles leaving a fabrieatingmachine in a continuous flow, wherein it is desired to package thearticles by means of a packaging machine which operates transversely ofthe. article flow; in such a case, a space must be provided between thelast article of a group to be packaged and the first article of the nextgroup in order to permit the reciprocating mechanism of the packagingmachine to operate effectively and also to assure that the first articleof the following group does not interfere with the operation of thepackaging machine. These and other difficulties exerienced with theprior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the presentinvention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide afeed apparatus for interrupting a continuous flow of articles to producea gap in the flow.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a feed apparatuscapable of receiving articles in series and passing them onwardly inpredetermined groups interrupted by gaps.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a feedapparatus for receiving continuous flow of envelopes from anenvelope-making machine and transmitting them in large uninterruptedgroups of predetermined quantity to a machine for banding or packaginggroups of the envelopes.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusfor Changing continuous flow to discontinuous flow, which apparatus issimple and inexpensive to manufacture, which may be operated byunskilled labor and which is capable of a long life of useful service.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an article-feedingapparatus having a means for accumulating articles and a means forpassing a pre-determined number of articles onward in which the meansfor accumulating assures that never less than a given number ofparticles are accumulated at any given time.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood byreference to one of its structural forms as shown by the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an apparatus embodying theprinciples of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus,

FIG. 3 is a view of the apparatus taken on the line ILIIII of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the apparatus taken on the linelVIV of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the electrical circuitry used in theinvention.

Referring first to FIG. 1, wherein are best shown the general featuresof the invention, the feed apparatus, indicated generally by thereference numeral 10, is shown in use (for the purpose of illustration)with an envelopemaking machine 11 and a banding machine 12. The bandingmachine is of the nature shown in the patent to Howatt No. 2,842,915issued July 15, 1958 and serves to tie a number of the envelopestogether by means of a strip of paper. The output portion only of theenvelope-making machine is shown, and this portion consists of a roll 13which carries the finished envelope into a serrated wheel 14 whosespiral slots 15 serve to carry the envelopes around with it, the edge ofan envelope having the flap residing innermost of each respective slot.

The banding machine 12 has an entering roll 16 and a guide finger 17between which the envelopes are introduced. They accumulate immediatelyto the right of these two elements until a pre-determined number havearrived and a solenoid 18 is energized. This solenoid operates an arm 19which moves past the fingers 17 and compacts the group of envelopeswhich are already in the machine. At that time, a pair of opposed teethappear at the top and bottom of the bundle of envelopes and carry theminto the machine an incremental distance. At the same time that thisbundle 21 is moving into the machine a predetermined distance, anotherbundle at the. end of the machine is being banded in the well-knownmanner.

The feed apparatus consists of a roll 22 which is keyed to a rotatingshaft 23. Extending between the serrated wheel 14 and the roll 22 of thefeed apparatus is a rack 24 on which the envelopes 25 accumulate. Ateach side of the rack 24 and engaging the end edges of the envelopes isa guide 26. Underlying the end of the rack 24 adjacent the periphery ofthe roll 22 is a small roll 27.

Extending parallel to the axis of the shaft 23 and generally in front ofbut above the roll 22 is a mounting bar 28 from which extends anelectrical cable 29 for a purpose to be explained more fullyhereinafter. Also attached to the mounting bar 28 is a finger 31 and afinger 32, the finger 32 pressing against the downstream. end of theaccumulation of envelopes 25 on the rack 24.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the shaft 23 is mounted forrotation in a pedestal 33 and is driven by an electric motor 34 througha gear 35 and a gear 36. Extending from the pedestal 33 is a suctionsleeve 37 to which is connected a suction conduit 38 connected to asource of suction (not shown). The roll 22 is shown as consisting offour disc-like portions 39, 41, and 42, and 43 which are mounted on thesleeve 37 and keyed to the shaft 23, the center two portions 41 and 42being provided with suction apertures 44, while the outer portions 39and 43 are not so provided. The portions 39, 41, 42, and 43 are spacedapart; located in the space between the portions 42 and 43 is aphotoelectric apparatus 45 for counting the envelopes as they passthrough. This apparatus is supported on a slotted bracket 46 which isfastened to the right-hand end of the mounting bar 28.

Fastened to the mounting bar 28 are two bushing blocks 47 and 48 inwhich are rotatably carried a horizontal shaft 49. Keyed to this shaftis the finger 31 and similar fingers 40 and 50 in alignment with thespaces between the portions 42 and 43, and portions 39 and 44-, andportions 41 and 42 of the roll 22, respectively. The mounting bar 28 isfastened to supporting plate 51 and this holds the mounting bar 28 incantilever fashion extending horizontally in front of the roll 22.Mounted at the top of the plate 51 is a block 52 hingedly mounted on avertical pin 53. Extending through the block 52 in a direction which isgenerally horizontal and transverse of the apparatus is an elongated rod54 bent downward at its outer end in a plane midway between the portions41 and 42 of the roll 22 to form the finger 32. Extending also from theblock 52 at a portion thereabove outwardly of the pin 53 is an actuatingfinger 55 which is in position, on occasion, to engage the operatingmember 58 of a microswitch 56 fastened to the side of the vertical plate51. Also mounted on the plate is a solenoid 57 connected to the rod 49to operate the fingers 31 and 50.

FIG. 3 shows the arrangement of the parts associated with the mountingplate 51. The microswitch 56 is shown with its actuating finger 58 inposition to be engaged on occasion by the finger 55 mounted on the block52. The nature of the pin 53 is clearly shown in this view, as is thepresence of the rod 54. At the same time, it can be seen that thesolenoid 57 has an outwardly-extending plunger 59 which is pivotallyattached to the lower end of a lever 61. This lever is keyed at theupper end to the shaft 49. Also attached to the plate 51 is a bracket 62which is L-shaped and which has a first leg which lies in the plane ofthe plate 51 and is fastened thereto, and which has another legextending at a right angle to the first and has running through it anadjustable stop screw 63. This screw is in a plane to be engaged by thelever 61 to limit the swing of the lever. Extending from theintermediate portion of the lever to the same leg of the bracket 62 inwhich the stop screw 63 resides is a coil spring 64 which serves to biasthe lever in such a way that the rod 59 is withdrawn from the solenoid57. Energization of the solenoid causes the rod to move inwardly.

In FIG. 4 is shown the manner in which the photoelectric apparatus 45 ismounted on the roll. A nonrotating sleeve 65 extends along the shaft 23to about the mid-point between the portion 42 and the portion 43. Thephotoelectric apparatus is provided with a main body 66 which isfastened by means of a screw 67 to the bracket 46 which is adjustablyfastened to the outer end of the mounting bar 28 and which is providedwith an elongated slot 68. The main body 66 is provided with asemicylindrical curved surface 69 which exactly fits around the outercylindrical surface of the sleeve 65 for a portion thereof. Bolted tothe main body 66 is a clamping plate 71 which is recessed to provide avertical flat surface 72 which rests against the outer cylindricalsurface of the sleeve 65 opposite the surface 69 and a flange whichengages the outer end surface of the sleeve. Mounted in the main body 66are a sender 73, which may be an electric lamp, and a receiver 74 whichmay include a photoelectric cell. The cable 29 is suitably connected tothe sender and receiver in the usual way and the sender and receiver aredirected toward the periphery of the roll 22 and toward the surface ofan envelope passing around on the peripheral surface of the roll.

Referring to FIG. 5, a source 75 of alternating current electricity isprovided and connected by lines 76 and 77 to the sender 73 and to thereceiver 74, these elements being suitably connected togetherelectrically. The receiver 74 is connected to a counter 78 of theconventional type adapted to receive electrical pulses to accumulatethem and, when a pre-determined accumulation has resulted, to energizethe coil 79 of a relay 81. Such a counter may consist, for instance, ofa mechanical apparatus, such as a stepping switch, or it may consist ofa thyratron having a capacitor connected from ground to its grid, thecharge on the capacitor being increased with each pulse of a signalreceived from the photoelectric cell and, eventually, reaching thefiring point of the thyratron to energize the coil 79 which is connectedin its plate circuit. In any case, the energization of the coil 79causes the closure of a normally-open contactor 82 forming part of therelay 81. This contactor lies in a line 83 joining one side of theelectrical source 75 to one side of the bander solenoid 18, the otherside of which is connected by a line 84 back to the other side of thesource 75. A point in the line 83 between the contactor 82 and thesolenoid 18 is connected by a line 85 to one side of the finger solenoid57. The other side of the solenoid 57 is connected by a line 86 to theother side of the source 75. The line 85 is also connected to one sideof the microswit-ch 56, the other side of which is connected by a line87 to the line 83 and the source 75.

The operation of the apparatus will now be readily understood in view ofthe above description. Envelopes formed in the envelope-making machine11 pass around the roll 13 and are deposited one-by-one in the slots 15of the serrated wheel 14. As the wheel 14 (there are two of them inside-by-side position engaging the central portion of the envelopes)rotates and each envelope reaches the rack 24, it is deposited on therack and forms a stack of the envelopes 25 011 the rack. The envelopesare retained against movement in their longitudinal direction by theside guides 26 and are arranged with their flaps in the downwarddirection and facing rearwardly toward the envelope-making machine, theenvelopes added to the back of the pack residing on the rack 24 as theyadvance forwardly toward the roll 22. It should be noted that, althoughthe fingers 31, 40, and 50 are located below the surface of the roll,the finger 31 resides in the space between the portion 42 and theportion 43, while the finger 50 resides in the space between the portion41 and the portion 42 of the roll, and the finger 40 resides between theportions 39 and 41. The foremost envelope of the stack on the rackeventually advances to the point where it is engaged by the roll 22 andthe suction on the suction apertures 44 pulls the envelope toward theroll so that it sticks to the roll and rotates with it. The suctionenters the suction sleeve 37 through the conduit 38 and is commutated inthe well-known manner within the roll so the envelope suction appears onan aperture on the roll only when the particular aperture is goingthrough the lower portion of the periphery from the neighborhood of thefinger 31 to the neighborhood of the guide finger 17. Each envelope,therefore, rolls over the roller 16, up under the guide finger 17 of thebander 12. As it passes around the bottom of the periphery of the roll22, it eventually passes within the focus point of the photoelectricapparatus 45, and a signal from the receiver 74 passes through the cable29 to the counter 78 so that the particular envelope is counted. Thecounter 78 is set for a pre-determined number of envelopes and, whenthat predetermined number of envelopes has passed under the roll intothe bander, the relay 78 is energized. The energization of the coil 79causes the closing of the normally-open contactor 82 which has theeffect of energizing the bander solenoid 18 and causing the arm 19 toswing inwardly and to press the accumulated bundle of envelopes wellinto the bander where it is engaged by the usual mechanism of thebander. At the same time, the finger solenoid 57 is energized so thatthe rod 59 is drawn inwardly carrying the lever 61 with it against thetension of the coil spring 64. The movement of the lever 61 causes acorresponding rotation of the shaft 49 and the fingers 31 and 50 moveout of their grooves and press against the incoming end of the stack ofenvelopes on the rack 24. This presses the whole body of envelopes awayfrom the roll 22 so that they are not picked up by the suction aperturesand, therefore, cannot be carried around the roll. The counter 78energizes the coil 79 only momentarily so that the mechanisms returnalmost immediately to their former normal positions, particularly thefingers 31, 40, and 59 return to their resting place in the grooves inthe rolls so that the envelopes 25 are allowed to advance toward theroll and be picked up by the suction. However, in the moment duringwhich the fingers are pressed toward the envelopes, the movement of thefingers causes a gap in the continuous movement of the envelopes throughthe roll and, therefore, a corresponding gap in the envelope stream thatarrives at the bander. Since the movement of the arm 19 or anycorresponding reciprocating movement of the apparatus in the bandermust, necessarily, interfere with the steady flow of envelopes if such agap were not present, there would be an interference between theenvelopes. For instance, if such were the case, the last-countedenvelope of the group would pass under the guide finger 1'7 and bepressed by the arm 19 but, while the arm 19 was active in pressing thelast envelope of that group, the forwardmost envelope of the next groupwould be piling up in back of the arm and it would be diflicult for thearm to retract without disturbing the envelope arrangement.

It is interesting to note that the envelopes leave the envelope-makingmachine upside down with the flaps facing rearwardly but that, when theyarrive at the bander, they are right side up with the flaps facingforwardly. Occasionally, for one reason or another, the envelopesarriving at the rack 24 will not arrive as quickly as they are absorbedby the feed apparatus. The finger 32 is continuously pressed against theforwardmost of the envelopes by the operation of a coil spring 88 whichextends from the block 54 to the end of an adjustable screw 89 mountedon the surface of the mounting bar 23. If the stack of envelopesdiminishes due to failure of envelopes to arrive from theenvelope-making machine, the finger 32 will advance rearwardly becauseof the spring pressure. Eventually, this will cause the finger 55 toengage the actuating finger 58 of the microswitch 56. This will closethe normally-open microswitch 56 which, in turn, will energize thesolenoid 57 and cause the fingers 31 and 50 to remain in their operativeposition away from the roll 22, thus maintaining the envelopes out ofcontact with the roll so that they are not picked up. In this way, thepackage of envelopes on the rack 24 can accumulate until the envelopepressure causes the finger 32 to be pushed rearwardly so that the finger55 eventually moves out of engagement with the actuating finger 58 ofthe microswitch 56, thus allowing the microswitch to open andde-energize the finger solenoid 57. In this way, an adequateaccumulation of envelopes 2S always remains on the rack 24; this meansthat the pressure on the foremost envelope is such as to press itagainst the roll in the proper manner so that it can be easily picked upby the suction apertures.

It can be seen, then, that the articles are introduced into the feedapparatus at a pre-determined continuous rate, but that they leave thefeed apparatus in groups with a gap in delivery between the groups.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to theexact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new anddesired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Feed apparatus for interrupting the continuous flow of articles toproduce a gap in the flow, comprising (a) a rotatable drum adapted tolie in the line of flow of articles, the drum having a suction means forcausing the articles to cling to the drum and revolve therewith from oneside to the other and having a peripheral groove formed therein,

(b) a rack on the said one side of the drum on which the articles arriveseriatim and accumulate,

(c) a discharge means at the said other side of the drum to receive thearticles as they leave the drum,

(d) finger means normally lying in the said groove of the drum andoperative on occasion to leave the groove to prevent the article on therack which is closest to the drum from approaching the drum to beeffected by the said suction means,

(e) photo-electric means counting the articles and rendering the fingermeans operative, and

(f) an accumulator finger overlying the rack to render the suction meansinoperative when the number of articles accumulated on the rack fallsbelow a predetermined number.

2. Feed apparatus for interrupting the continuous flow of articles toproduce a gap in the flow, comprising (a) a drum adapted to lie in theline of flow of articles, the drum having securing means for causing thearticles to cling to the drum and revolve therewith from one side to theother,

(b) a rack on the said one side of the drum on which the articles arriveseriatim and accumulate,

(c) a discharge means at the said other side of the drum to receive thearticles as they leave the drum,

((1) means operative on occasion to prevent the article on the rackwhich is closest to the drum from approaching the drum to be affected bythe said securing means, and

(e) an accumulator finger associated with the rack,

which finger renders the securing means inoperative with less than apredetetrmined number of articles are arranged on the rack.

3. Feed apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the finger is hingedlymounted over the rack to pivotal movement about a vertical axis, whereina spring bias is provided to direct the finger against the article, andwherein an electrical switch is located to be operated when the fingerswings to a pre-determined position about the said axis.

4. Feed apparatus for interrupting a continuous flow of articles toproduce a gap in the flow, each article having inherent resilience,comprising,

(a) conveyor means adapted to lie in the line of flow of articles, theconveyor means having securing means associated therewith for causingthe articles to cling to the surface thereof for movement therewith froma first portion to a second portion,

(b) a rack on the said one side of said conveyor means to which thearticles arrive seriatim and accumulate, the accumulation of thearticles bringing about a resilient pressure toward the conveyor meansof the article closest thereto,

(c) discharge means at the said other side of said conveyor means toreceive the articles as they leave said conveyor means, and

(d) an accumulator finger associated with the rack, the finger renderingthe securing means inoperative when less than a predetermined resilientpressure exists on the article closest thereto.

5. Feed apparatus for interrupting the continuous flow of articles toproduce a gap in the flow, comprising (a) a rotatable drum adapted tolie in the line of flow of articles, the drum having a suction means forcausing the articles to cling to the drum and revolve therewith from oneside to the other,

(b) a rack on the said one side of the drum on which the articles arriveseriatim and accumulate,

(c) a discharge means at the said other side of the drum to receive thearticles as they leave the drum,

(d) means operative on occasion to prevent the article on the rack whichis closest to the drum from approaching the drum to be alfected by thesaid suction means, and

(e) a counting means that renders the last-named means operative when apre-determined number of articles have passed from one side to the otherof the drum.

6. Feed apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein a photoelectricapparatus is associated with the drum to 10 observe the passage of thearticles from one side to the other of the drum.

8 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,006,902 10/1911 Bickerton.

1,100,570 6/1914 Jahn 27181 2,917,884 12/1959 Winkler et a1. 531982,969,979 1/1961 Nelson et al 27l5 3,173,684 3/1965 Binzoni 271-57 M.HENSON WOOD, 121., Primary Examiner.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Examiner.

W. F. MCCARTHY, J. N. ERLICH, Assistant Examiners.

1. FEED APPARATUS FOR INTERRUPTING THE CONTINUOUS FLOW OF ARTICLES TOPRODUCE A GAP IN THE FLOW, COMPRISING (A) A ROTATABLE DRUM ADAPTED TOLIE IN THE LINE OF FLOW OF ARTICLES, THE DRUM HAVING A SUCTION MEANS FORCAUSING THE ARTICLES TO CLING TO THE DRUM AND REVOLVE THEREWITH FROM ONESIDE TO THE OTHER AND HAVING A PERIPHERAL GROOVE FORMED THEREIN, (B) ARACK ON THE SAID ONE SIDE OF THE DRUM ON WHICH THE ARTICLES ARRIVESERIATIM AND ACCUMULATE, (C) A DISCHARGE MEANS AT THE SAID OTHER SIDE OFTHE DRUM TO RECEIVE THE ARTICLES AS THEY LEAVE THE DRUM, (D) FINGERMEANS NORMALLY LYING IN THE SAID GROOVE OF THE DRUM AND OPERATIVE ONOCCASION TO LEAVE THE GROOVE TO PREVENT THE ARTICLE ON THE RACK WHICH ISCLOSEST TO THE DRUM FROM APPROACHING THE DRUM TO BE EFFECTED BY THE SAIDSUCTION MEANS, (E) PHOTO-ELECTRIC MEANS COUNTING THE ARTICLES ANDRENDERING THE FINGER MEANS OPERATIVE, AND (F) AN ACCUMULATOR FINGEROVERLYING THE RACK TO RENDER THE SUCTION MEANS INOPERATIVE WHEN THENUMBER OF ARTICLES ACCUMULATED ON THE RACK FALLS BELOW A PREDETERMINEDNUMBER.